Fried Venison Haunch

While rummaging for something for dinner yesterday I thought I'd try slicing and frying a piece of boned venison haunch. I thought it would be a little tough and dry but I must say it was rather good. Quite similar to rump steak. It also went very well in my lunch sandwiches.

nettie

Oooooooooooo!!

sally_in_wales

oh yummy, I love venison. We do get a bit saturated with it at the height of venison season (blame jerky meister and his venison co-ops!) but himself does really fab pickled venison, think pastrami ham but even nicer. I'm hungry again

moggins

YOu tease!! I haven't had a decent piece of venison in years, it's gone way out of my price range down here.

sally_in_wales

Its cheaper than beef round here, and I like knowing the deer have had a happy life and a swift finish. We do the butchering ourselves too so we know exactly what we're getting.

moggins

I knew there was a good reason for coming to Wales

nettie

It's cheaper in Essex too!

cab

Venison is massively expensive here. I really must find someone who can get me some more cheaply.

Nanny

vension

certailnly cheaper than the equivalent cut of beef here .......cab try the wild meat company as you are in cambs and they are in suffolk

we have found them to always be competitive.......

cab

Nanny, thanks I shall take a look.

Treacodactyl

How much do people pay then? My haunchs (fallow I was told) were £9.92 a kg from Hampshire Game at a local London farmers market. To be honest I have no idea how much rump steak costs but I thought the venison was better.

I will try and track down a supply I can butcher myself, but I may need a larger freezer.

Lloyd

cab wrote:

Venison is massively expensive here. I really must find someone who can get me some more cheaply.

Have a word with Deerstalker!

Lloyd

Treacodactyl wrote:

How much do people pay then? My haunchs (fallow I was told) were £9.92 a kg from Hampshire Game at a local London farmers market. .

I bet Hampshire Game would sell it for about £2.00 per pound in Hampshire!!........Outside of London, that's all it's worth!...........Not denying that it is food to die for, though...Just the financial value I question.

nettie

I get mine from the Wild Meat Co too, www.wildmeat.co.uk, (Robert is very helpful), and there is a chap who sells farmed Venison at Barleylands market,White House Farm I think, based in Maldon, Essex, haunch £10.50/kilo. So on a par with what you are paying Treacy but still cheaper than supermarket beef.

Lloyd

I bought my last haunch at Sparsholt College, Hampshire, after their winter cull. The 10 pound haunch cost £25.00, I believe.

nettie

It's not what you know but who you know.....I got lucky once, my dad got me a whole load free from a neighbour who knew someone who'd had a cull......sadly no more has been forthcoming. There aren't too many culls round these parts!

Treacodactyl

Madman wrote:

I bet Hampshire Game would sell it for about £2.00 per pound in Hampshire!!........Outside of London, that's all it's worth!...........Not denying that it is food to die for, though...Just the financial value I question.

I doubt it would be that cheap. When I was there it was still quite expensive but probably cheaper that £10/kg.

Without giving away trade secrets, how cheap can it be?

Thanks nettie, good to know some other prices - it gives me a good guide.

Lloyd

From tomorrow onwards, I'll have a rifle with me when working in the wood. If I get lucky, I'll let you know!

Treacodactyl

I gather from DS the butchering needs someone with experience to spot any problems with the carcass. I've often thought about what you suggest.

Lloyd

For the past several millenia, how has mankind survived without a specialist to hand?....If it looks not right, the odds are you'll spot the problem!

Lloyd

In the past, mates who are master butchers have supervised me when dressing a carcass. This was more to advise on cuts than anything else. Actually, with rabbits, in more than 20 years of rabbit shooting, ignoring myxie, I think I've only had two or three bunnies that were dodgy biologically speaking.

Treacodactyl

Madman wrote:

For the past several millenia, how has mankind survived without a specialist to hand?....If it looks not right, the odds are you'll spot the problem!

Not having much experience I'd be interested in MR DS's comments. Sounds like you know what you're doing, not sure about myself.

Lloyd

It's not really any different to doing a rabbit, chicken, or whatever....just a helluvalot bigger!

sally_in_wales

We have paid about £1 per lb for a skin on carcass (less head, innards and feet) in the past, sometimes its a little more but never more that about £1.75 if I remember right (jerky meister usually negotiates the prices as we have a number of animals over several weeks). Butchering is done as a sort of party, my DH and a friend dismember the beast on the diningroom table, jerkymeister and me wash (if necessary- only usually if the meat is covered in shed hair!), pack, chop, mince and sausage in the kichen. Then there is the ritual fried venison fillet supper. The boys have got really fast over the years, they can do three huge deer in the time it used to take us to do one little one.
Have also had fresh roadkill deer, but in hindsight next time we'd deal with that in the same way you deal with roadkill pheasant (unzip skin, take off breast and leg, leave innards well inside the carcass) because the insides of a deer thats been hit by a truck are truly yucky- nowt wrong with the meat though

tahir

that sounds great Sally, we do something similar with sheep at eid, we usually get 3 or 4 of 'em (minus skin and guts) as you say the more you do it the quicker you get.